Galle

Travel Guide Asia Sri Lanka Galle

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Introduction

The coastal town of Galle is 116 kilometres from Colombo by road or rail, down the southwest coast. Both routes are picturesque, following the coastline closely for much of the way. With the development in past years, the town has grown greatly and spreads into the hinterland but the Fort or the Rampart is the slow-beating heart of Galle’s history. The city sorrounded by thick walls has stood since the early sixteenth century, through the colonial periods of the Portuguese, Dutch and British and in our present times is proclaimed as an Archaeological Reserve and been identified as a World Heritage site.

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Sights and Activities

  • Galle Fort

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Events and Festivals

Galle Literary Festival

Starting off the festivals in January, the Galle Literary Festival is an event that takes place annually. Well-known internationally as one of the best literary festivals in with world, the event plays host to some of the most famous names in literature, including Richard Dawkins, Joanna Trollope, and Meera Syal. Local Sri Lankan writers are also showcased. Visitors to the festival can enjoy readings, discussions, and a host of interesting and informative workshops.

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Sleep

Mid-Range

  • Lady Hill Hotel - A lovely small hotel located at 29, Upper Dickson road with a good view of the city. It is a converted colonial mansion which draws lots of English tourists. Lovely reception area, dining and swimming pool area. Rooms are comfortable though weathered. Friendly staff. Prices are cheap for Galle, around US$40 per night for Sri Lankans and slightly more for others.
  • Koggala Beach Hotel - An iconic property that encompasses all the charm and colour that one of the best beachfronts in Sri Lanka Phone: (+94) 91 228 3243, Price: USD 112 - 187
  • Club Koggala Village - A hive of vacation activity that is specially designed with the club concept in mind! Phone: (+94) 91 228 2511, Price: USD 96 - 187
  • The Long Beach Resort Koggala - One of Koggala's finest star properties set amidst 1km of the South's softest sands on this idyllic beachfront Phone: (+94) 91 228 3332, Price: USD 100 - 187

Upscale

  • Galle Fort Hotel - A luxury hotel located within the old Dutch fort and single rooms start from around US$160.

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Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafes are available in all the cities and these are cheap and easy to access. Most hotels have internet access as well but are relatively expensive. There are various internet service providers (Sri Lanka Telecom, Dialog, Mobitel etc.) providing different packages: ADSL broadband, dial-up, WiFi. Please contact a service provider to learn more about the packages and prices.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country code for Sri Lanka is 94. Remove the intercity prefix (0) before the area code when dialling internationally into the country (i.e., 0112 688 688 becomes +94 112 688 688) when dialling from abroad). The two next numbers after 94 represents the area code, they are different for every district.

The use of GSM cellphones is widespread and the coverage is good. Dialog and Mobitel are two operators that have sales offices at the airport inside the arrivals lounge. Dialog Mobile has the widest coverage in the country including rural areas and has the best quality GSM / 3G / HSPA +/4G network. Mobitel also has a 3G/HSPA+ network. All the mobile operators are having same call rates due to floor rate tariffs. Therefore it is advisable to go to the network which offers you the best quality. All Mobile Operators offers cheap IDD Call rates. If you want to surf internet, best way is to buy a HSPA dongle and a Mobile Broadband connection. Dialog Mobile, Mobitel, hutch, Etisalat and Airtel offers prepaid Mobile Broadband services which can be activated and used immediately. Dialog is the Vodafone Roaming Network in Sri Lanka and offers the best range of Value added services for Roamers and the rates are cheaper. Etisalat and Airtel also provide cheap roaming rates specially to India.

Post

Sri Lankan Post is the national postal company. Each city/town has a main post office and the villages will have access to sub post offices, either at the village or nearby village. Local post, through normal mail, is cheap and fast. However, to ensure that the post has reached recipient, it is better to send by registered post which will allow you to have a reference number which you can later use to check with your post office that your mail has reached its destination. There are local courier services. Aramex and Pronto are some of the ones in Colombo and they deliver mail the same day or overnight. For better tracking and fast services companies like DHL, or TNT provide a good service but are more expensive.

Quick Facts

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Coordinates
  • Latitude: 6.0308
  • Longitude: 80.2387

Accommodation in Galle

We have a comprehensive list of accommodation in Galle searchable right here on Travellerspoint.

Contributors

as well as Hien (10%), Peter (6%), Herr Bert (4%)

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This is version 24. Last edited at 22:00 on Jun 29, 19 by Utrecht. 2 articles link to this page.

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